X-Men #2What can you say about another new X-book that hasn't already been said? How about this: it borders somewhere between average and adequate. The vampire invasion continues and the first issue was good, but this one seemed to meander a bit. The idea behind it is fine and Jubilee's situation is a bit of a Storm rehash from nearly three decades ago, but I thought the art was good and characterization was strong. Wish Kurt had been there since the moments between Wolverine, Colossus, Cyclops and Storm was very reminiscent of a much simpler time in the X-Men mythos. The fact that they have decided to bring back Lord Dracula is pretty cool though and I still kind of enjoyed this. I mean in the end at least there were no pale emo kids all mushy ga-ga over each other... right? My Score: C+

Emerald Warriors #1
To me there are four great writers right now at DC; Simone, Johns, Dini and Tomasi. Although I was sad to see Peter leave Green Lantern Corps. It was definitely for a right reason. Guy Gardner is front and center in this new series and deservedly so. I still question how many GL books DC can put out before over-kill but thanks to Johns and company there are so many new characters to play with, including Atrocitus that this could last several more years with great new stories. Pasarin's art is really beautiful here and the coloring is a perfect compliment. Not quite sure how strong the first story arc is at this point, it felt a bit uneven, but this is just the first issue and I've got huge confidence in Tomasi. This is definitely a book to keep an eye on. My Score: B

The Thanos Imperative #3And the best just keeps getting better, if that's possible. I want to thank Abnett and Lanning for making me fall in love and care about characters that I never thought I would. What seems to be the final big event from these two (at least for a while if the rumors are true) could truly be their best. Every character has their moment in the sun but this is really Thanos' story, and one that this team has obviously been building towards for a long time. Each of these events has wonderfully woven into each other. I just wish that Guardians of the Galaxy will continue when this is over. My Score: A-

The Invincible Iron Man #29
What the hell is going on with this series? I mean I know that once a great arc is done it takes some time to build up to the next great thing, but suddenly it seems like Fraction is trying to do the slowest build up in comic book history. This could be the most decompressed story Marvel has ever produced. If Bendis is the Yoda of decompression, Fraction is fast becoming the Obi Wan. There were two pages of Pepper in her Rescue armor and a lot of Tony talking. Not much else, just Tony talking. Spending a lot of time just... talking. Not even about anything real important either. Finally the end has Tony meeting with the Hammer sisters - and I really don't care at this point. My Score: D+

Adventure Comics #517I'm really not a huge fan of the Legion but I do enjoy Paul Levitz. And when I do enjoy a Legion story it usually doesn't involve the core three. This story is pretty much all about Saturn Girl, Lightening Lad, and Cosmic Boy... which is why I really didn't have much interest here; the backup story with The Atom, however, is worth the price of the book. At this point I'd rather see this title be more about Ray Palmer and less about those crazy kids from the future. My Score: C-

The Incredible Hulk #611
The overlying arc here has been horrible with moments of coolness (usually the Pak stuff). As World War Hulk comes to a conclusion we see the inevitable fight between father and son. Though there was nothing surprising here, it was also a well written issue with an emotional ending that was a decent pay-off to the story. The best part of this issue for me, though, was the art of Paul Pelletier. I really liked the way he drawn both Hulk and son of Hulk. I can't say I've enjoyed this story on a whole, but this particular issue is probably the most enjoyable of the entire arc. My Score: B-

Birds of Prey #4
I'm going to end this week with on a high note. The best ensemble book keeps getting better and better. Black Canary faces the fight of her life, winning by the skin of her teeth as she figures out who The White Canary finally is. Oracle saves the life of Savant (a character that I'm thrilled is back in this book) and Huntress, Hawk and Dove take down Penguin who actually seems to be a bit of a threat. With the promise of the return of Shiva in the near future, Gail Simone once again proves that nobody can write these women as well as she can. Long live the birds and love live Gail's second run. My Score: A-

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